Friday, 27 May 2016

Farewell Carla - what did you think of her send-off?

She's gone. After almost 10 years on Coronation Street, the queen of the knicker-stitchers is no more. Who will take her place as Street siren, for surely someone must? And who will move up into her apartment and poke her fire every now and then?

What did you make of her send-off though, last night? Was it as fitting as it should have been? And am I asking too many questions? I think, perhaps, I am.

There were some truly touching scenes and I've watched last night's farewell twice already as I get ready to pen the final page in the The Little Book of Carla Connor before it goes to the publisher today.

Roy, of course, brought the tear to my eye.
"You are who you are," he told her. "Don't lose that. Perhaps you could learn to love yourself as much as we love you. Fresh start, calmer water."
"Come and paddle," Carla said as she kissed him goodbye.
"I will," Roy replied.

It was a lovely ending, and one that was right, for Carla - at this time.
But having written the last 10 years of Carla in one little book, I've been
reminded much of the woman she once was. Corrie has never had anyone like her before and I doubt they will again.

22 comments:

Personally, I would have much preferred a happier send-off. Carla always used to be a strong woman, and IMHO it would have been better for her to leave on her own terms, not just run out of town.

Although I'm not a fan of the "Britain's Got Talent" weeks, as it always feels like plots are dragged out for months, just so they can climax during this week of programmes, but the tram crash and flat fire weeks were at least exciting.

But this time, the interminable wedding was d r a g g e d out for far too long, and the only exciting bits - the crash scenes, and subsequent body discovery both came towards the end. Cathy getting hit by the car was a very convincing piece of stuntwork, but turned out to be a waste of time, when Cathy was sitting up and joking the very next episode. Overall not a patch on previous "special" weeks.

And would Carla really simply drive away, knowing that a mystery body had just been unearthed? Surely, fleeing at that precise moment, would make her the prime suspect?

I think it was a little bit rushed in the end. After everything she has been through it is this that runs her out of town? It was of course a lovely moment with Roy And a nice moment with her new family. Again another reason why it Kinda sucks she leaves now. However they have all know for weeks she was leaving lol. She still would have left with Nick.

And that brings me to Nick and Carla. I'm so sad that they never got their happy ending. They should be in Devon by the sea in their little cottage with Puppies and babies growing old together :(

I'm so sad that they never even got a final goodbye. She never chased him and neither did he chase her. They both just gave up.

It was a good ending though in another way, it was sad to see her leaving with her tail between her legs rather than head held high. The scenes with Johnny and Roy did get to me, with Roy as much as telling her he loved her and Johnny's heart breaking a little.

I agree with most of these comments....I wish she hadn't been run out of town by Tracy, they really need to make something nasty happen to Tracy to balance it all out as its getting boring and pathetic her always getting away with these evil stunts she pulls. It would have been much more preferable for Carla to have punched her and done something to her infront of everyone to just to make it more better for the viewer.

I did not understand why they allowed her and Nick to marry for then him to decide he was divorcing her.....I agree, it would have been a better ending for them to marry but since Ben wasn't leaving too, that wasn't going to happen

But I did enjoy the final scenes between her and Roy and her and Johnny and her finally calling him Dad.

It probably would have seemed a better exit to Corrie fans if we hadn't had so many spoilers beforehand. I can't recall any character good-byes that were very happy, except Becky's, and even that was at the very last minute. Agree that the wedding was too drawn out. Loved seeing some real love from the 2 men in her life, Johnny and Roy. Good on Cathy for encouraging Roy to go after Carla.

I too was cheering on a good Tracy-slap, but now I think her not clocking her was more dignified and maybe hurt Tracy-luv even more. She's not worth even a slap.

Yeah good old Carla...trying to steal her brother in law from his pregnant wife. Good old Carla .. trying to steal the alcoholic husband of her supposed best friend. Good old Carla running over Stella while driving drunk. Good old Carla....never been another like her. Long live Carla. Ugh!

I liked Carla's exit--much better than I expected: thought it was surprisingly dignified and psychologically complex. Rather than a totally explosive crash and burn or the highly unlikely, totally out of character fairy tale ending they gave Becky. Suggests that finally, maybe, she'll reflect on herself, rather than turn to booze and gambling, and become a person more at peace with herself. Nice contrast with Tracy too--at least Carla still has family and friends who love her, even if she has screwed up everything else.

Also left the door wide open for her return--with her marriage to Nick in place, her family at the factory, and the suggestion that this experience will change her for the better. Hopefully she'll be back in a year or two's time--older, wiser,more mellow, and, if she does come back, probably with a child.

I will miss Carla (Ali). She is a brilliant actress! She is a pro who can express a range of emotions both with or without words. I am glad to see that she was able to say a proper goodbye to Roy. My only regret is that she did not leave in a mini-bus, taking along Sarah and Michelle. (Note...I am now putting on my bullet-proof vest!!!). Let's face it, Tina O'B struggles with most of her lines and her attempt at any emotion is some bizarre facial smirk. As for Michelle....who is a brilliant person, I'm sure, doesn't seem to know where to place her arms (crossed 95% of the time) and tends to overact (teary departure scene was admittedly over the top and not very believable). Let's just say her acting is not very multi-faceted. Suffice to say that yes, I will miss Carla.... Final note....replay the scene where Cathy gets hit by car (preferably in slow motion)...something is amiss!!!! Was she in the shop or not? If yes, she sure backed out into the street rather quickly!!!

Remembering how Tina was made a saint despite the fact she was having an affair with Peter while Carla was visiting a dying Hayley, I was also disappointed that Carla was run out of town by Tracy who gets away with it again!I was lokking forward to a happier exit with Carla leaving on her own terms.I'm not looking forward to Gail fussing over Nick after what Carla did to him

I hated her ending, I found it rushed and contrived. After all the pain she's been through THIS is what drives her away and to Devon? Why not LA, that would be believable. I still think her worst moment was Liam's death and that timing for a departure would be justifiable but no she bucked up and became strong again. So after another embarrassed wedding and despite her saying Tracy won't have the satisfaction of ruining her life etc. and in the end that's what happened. For a strong independent woman I thought this was totally out of character and weak. Very disappointing to a great actress and a good strong female on the cobbles.

I will miss the way she used to be, but not the Carla that's been with us for the last 6 months, or however long it's been since she lost her ability to stand up for herself. She was tough as old boots for years then all of a sudden she lets Tracy walk all over her because she can't bear the idea of losing Nick, a relationship which hasn't convinced a lot of viewers. I was disappointed to hear about her leaving when it was for announced but now I'm just glad that awful storyline is over.

Carla was an iconic character, Alison King is a top notch actress, and that send off was a huge let down.

I had really hoped that as payback for our viewing 6 months of depressed doormat Carla at the beck and call of nasty Tracy, Carla would have worked out an improbable but utterly destructive plot against Tracy while leaving the factory in great shape with a huge new client, kinda like the end of Liz and Tony but bigger. She'd have had her power returned, a white horse to ride out on and if Nick backed out, it would only be because his damaged brain couldn't keep up with her and that was a life he didn't want. Daddy would be proud, Roy's friendship would be solid, Michelle could nip down to Devon as easily as Steve goes to Spain. No magic, no deus ex machina, just plot and grit.